Shloka 10
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
पापीयान् स हि शूद्रेभ्यस्तस्करेभ्यो विशिष्यते । शास्त्रातिगो मन्दबुद्धियों धर्ममभिशड्गकते,जो मन्दबुद्धि पुरुष शास्त्रोंकी मर्यादाका उल्लंघन करके धर्मके विषयमें आशंका करता है, वह शूद्रों और चोरोंसे भी बढ़कर पापी है
pāpīyān sa hi śūdrebyas taskarebhyo viśiṣyate | śāstrātigo mandabuddhir dharmam abhiśaṅkate ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Tunay na higit na makasalanan ang taong mapurol ang isip na lumalampas sa hangganan ng śāstra at saka nagbubunsod ng pagdududa laban sa dharma; nalalampasan pa niya ang mga śūdra at ang mga magnanakaw sa kasamaan. Sapagkat sa paglabag sa aral na may kapangyarihan at sa pag-aalinlangan sa katuwiran, winawasak niya ang mismong saligan ng kaayusang moral.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that violating authoritative moral guidance (śāstra) and then doubting or maligning dharma is a grave fault. Such skepticism born of transgression is portrayed as more harmful than ordinary social or criminal wrongdoing because it destabilizes ethical order.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking in a reflective, didactic mode, evaluating degrees of sin and emphasizing reverence for dharma as understood through śāstra. He contrasts common categories of wrongdoing (theft, low conduct) with the deeper danger of rejecting or suspecting dharma after crossing prescribed limits.